MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte questioned why the expiration date of the face shields was raised during a Senate probe into medical supplies purchased by the government from Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corp. during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year.
Duterte stated in his pre-recorded Talk to the People on Monday night that plastics, even non-medical-grade plastics, will last a long time before expiring.
“Paano ito mag-expire. Unless abusuhin mo, itapon-tapon mo. Pero kung isuot mo lang at ilagay mo lang ng magandang pagkalagay. Paano mag expire yan? Mag-expire siguro but 10, 15 years. (How can it expire? Unless you abuse it, throw it around. But if you will just wear it and place it properly. How can it expire? It will expire maybe but it will take 10, 15 years),” Duterte said while showing a piece of medical-grade face shield procured by the Department of Health from the Pharmally.
He stated that the face shields can “expire due to scratches”.
“Eh kung maalagaan mo lang ‘yan, matagal ‘yan (If you take care of it, it would last for a long time),” he added.
Meanwhile, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III stated that the face shields discussed during the Senate hearing were medical-grade, with a foam brick and garter and a shelf life of around 36 months.
The face shields and other medical supplies, including personal protective equipment (PPEs), were acquired by the DOH through the Procurement Service – Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).
Duque stated that all medical supplies purchased by the DOH had been inspected for quality and quantity.
He noted that all supplies must adhere to the technical criteria of the agency.
“Hindi po natin tinanggap ang mga supplies ng hindi po ini-inspect ng ating pong DOH inspection team (We are not accepting supplies without the scrutiny of our DOH inspection team),” he said.
He also mentioned that the PS-DBM has its own supply inspection team.
During her appearance before the Senate, Pharmally executive Krizle Grace Mago stated that the company had changed the expiration date of the government-supplied face shields from 2020 to 2021.
